Choose Bernie Sanders as the Presidential Nominee

Choose Bernie Sanders as the Presidential Nominee

Started
June 26, 2016
Petition Closed
This petition had 31,261 supporters

Why this petition matters

Started by Jeannette Sorrell

In this moment of historic unrest, when our democracy has slipped into oligarchy and the threat of fascism has emerged, WE THE PEOPLE call on the Democratic National Convention, its pledged delegates and super delegates, to take historic action to save our democracy.  We call on you to choose Senator Bernie Sanders as the Democratic Presidential nominee. 

Yes, we know that Sanders has endorsed Clinton.  We, however, cannot vote for her - and neither will millions of other Americans.  We call on you to choose Sanders.  Our reasons include the following:

1.  HISTORIC PRECEDENTS FOR NOMINATING A 2ND-PLACE CANDIDATE.
Nominating Conventions exist in order to assess everything that has been learned during the primary season, and which candidate can best win the general election. Two of our greatest Presidents were chosen at conventions after a second-place finish in the primaries:  Dwight D. Eisenhower (who had won only 26% of the primary vote) and Abraham Lincoln (who had won 22%).  Both were chosen during times of great change and upheaval.  Now is such a time.

2.  SANDERS MORE LIKELY TO WIN THE GENERAL ELECTION. 
Senator Sanders is the candidate who can win.  Democrats make up only 28% of registered voters.  Elections are decided by the Independents, who now outnumber Democrats and Republicans combined.  Sanders is wildly popular with Independents, enjoying 70% support plus 44% of Democrats.  These 2 numbers add up to a landslide victory in a General Election.  This is why, in polls showing 1-to-1 match-ups between Sanders-Trump, Sanders consistently wins by 9-12 points, while Clinton is basically tied with Trump.  For example, this latest poll of swing states, Quinnipiac, June 21, 2016:

https://www.qu.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/2016-presidential-swing-state-polls/release-detail?ReleaseID=2359

The latest overall national poll of registered voters shows Sanders' favorability rating is 59%, Clinton 42%, Trump 40%.  Moreover, Sanders' favorability rating with non-whites is 77%, whereas Clinton's is only 64%,  (CNN/ORC poll, June 21, 2016).

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2016/images/06/21/rel7b.-.2016.general.pdf

Thus it is clear that Sanders' popularity has grown significantly, while Clinton's has declined. Moreover, these polls date from just BEFORE the FBI came out with their highly critical report of Secretary Clinton, showing that she had lied under oath to Congress.  

3.  CLINTON AS NOMINEE WILL LEAD TO LOW TURNOUT.
Since Clinton is viewed unfavorably by the vast majority of eligible voters.  Democratic turnout will be extremely low if she is the nominee.  This will also damage down-ballot races.

4.  SANDERS HAS THE MESSAGE FOR OUR TIME (BREXIT EXAMPLE).
Senator Sanders is the candidate who can win because his message has the ring of authenticity and it resonates with our time.  The recent BREXIT shows that working families are willing to go to severe measures to express both their frustration with the establishment and their desperate need for a less corporate-dominated society.  If Secretary Clinton is the nominee, a similar revolt could take place:  a right-wing extremist in the White House.

5.  CLINTON CONSIDERED UNTRUSTWORTHY.
There is widespread and growing concern among the American people, especially Independents, about Clinton’s questionable ethics and lack of trustworthiness.  Since the revelation (via Comey's report and Chavez' questioning) that Clinton lied to Congress under oath about her emails, recent polls show that she is viewed as much less trustworthy than Trump - a notorious liar.

6.  SIGNIFICANT NEW INFO HAS CAUSED VOTERS TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS SINCE THE SPRING ELECTIONS.
The results of the primary elections are meaningless since voters did not know at the time that the State Department IG and the FBI would both be denouncing the Secretary as they recently have; and that Secretary Clinton lied under oath to Congress (113 classified emails at the time they were sent - not Zero as she said); and that the State Dept would re-open its investigation, as has now happened; and that the House Oversight Committee and Judicial Committee would request a perjury investigation, as has now happened....

To assume that Clinton still has the support of all, or even most, of the people who voted for her in the spring would be naive and dangerous.

7.  PERCEPTIONS OF SIGNIFICANT ELECTION IRREGULARITIES FAVORING CLINTON.
There is widespread concern and anger against the DNC for a lack of neutrality in its handling of the 2016 primaries.  This includes an unprecedented number of superdelegates “pledging” to Clinton before the campaign began; widespread election irregularities, purges, etc.; and significant discrepancies between exit polls and official results, favoring Clinton in virtually every case. A class-action lawsuit against the DNC was filed in Federal court on June 28, alleging illegal manipulation and deceit in the DNC's handling of the primary.  Several other lawsuits are pending in other states, including California.  The superdelegates now have the opportunity to correct the impression of pre-campaign bias, by using their positions thoughtfully to evaluate all that has transpired and choose the candidate who can best win the confidence and affection of the American people.

On July 18, Election Justice USA issued a thorough and scathing report of the fraud during the Democratic primaries.  Written by 2 prominent statisticians and an award-winning investigative journalist, it is an extensive documentation of the election fraud in 22 states.  With many links, charts and graphs, they conclude: Trump's victory was real, Hillary's was not. "It is hard to conceive of a legitimate transfer of power following an election that has been this flawed. We recommend... these elections be examined and, if found to be inaccurate, decertified. Where paper ballots are available, count them by hand. Where they are not available, it would be more equitable to hold a 2nd vote, one that does not utilize electronic voting equipment. We understand that this is unprecedented." 

https://drive.google.com/a/apollosfire.org/file/d/0B2gyJMIH8GERVHV3NjhOTVZmaTg/view

Video evidence shows that senior Clinton campaign staff instructed interns and younger staff to systematically cheat and break the law.  "Whatever you can get away with, just do it," said a Clinton campaign lawyer to her trainees - caught on camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhI6bMbhsDE

8.  SANDERS HAS WISDOM AND AUTHENTICITY.
Senators Sanders is the candidate who can win because he is an authentic, experienced, incorruptible, and fearless public servant.  He has demonstrated, through speeches on the floor of Congress, that he foresaw in advance the complex worldwide problems we now face, including the dangers of the deregulated banks which led to our financial collapse; the growing income inequality which has now become a crisis; and the consequences of the Iraq war.

9.  SANDERS REPRESENTS THE FUTURE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
Senator Sanders has brought millions of new voters into the Party, but those people will leave if he is not the nominee. He is the overwhelming preference of voters under the age of 45.  This means that by 2024, Sanders’ vision will most likely be the overwhelming philosophy of voters under age 53.  The Democratic Party has a choice:  to become the party of the new reality, or a relic of the past.

We, the undersigned, will not and cannot vote for Secretary Clinton, nor any other candidate put forward by the DNC, other than Bernie Sanders.  Millions of us are lifelong Democrats who will leave the Party if Bernie is not the nominee.  We will ONLY vote for Bernie, who has our trust, our confidence, and frankly – our love.

LOVE TRUMPS HATE.

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